REVIEWS AND FEEDBACK

This book has been featured in the Globe and Mail twice, as well as CBC radio and a variety of local, national and international media outlets. It is currently being used as reference material by the City of Toronto, sold at the York University bookstore and picked up by professors at the University of Toronto, Ryerson Polytechnic Universities and showcased at Centennial College. The Toronto Public Library has also purchased several books to add to their collection. This incredible book is now also a part of The National Library of Canada. It is widely becoming known as a deeply insightful, authentic work with significant sociopolitical, anthropological and historical ​perspectives.

Throughout the course of this project many questions were sent in from the general public for graffiti artists. These questions came in from across Canada including the Northwest Territories, the States, Europe and Oceana. People are definitely curious. ​Toronto Graffiti and the Media:

As someone who documents street murals/wall art and street graffiti, I fully appreciate the difficulty involved in capturing these images before they are tagged or removed. Many books devoted to "Graffiti Art" give little background information on the under ground artists whose work is profiled.

What sets this fine publication apart from numerous other books hoping to cash in on this phenomenon is that Yvettte Farkas has gone the extra mile to track down graffiti artists to tell their stories in their own words, and lavishly illustrated her book with colour illustrations and sketch book studies.

And to add to the dialogue with artists, Farkas presents a chapter on "Legal Issues" pertaining to graffiti, "Health Matters" involved in dealing with spray painting, and "Detoxification Strategies," which further add to enhance the value of this work.

As a extra, a section entitled "Toronto Shots 1980 - 2010" rounds off this publication. Already in its second version, third printing, this 471 page anthology more than justifies its hefty price tag. Other Canadian cities have urban art that cries out to be documented as well as Farkas has done. Her exemplary work provides a framework on how to go about it!

This book is an absolute must have for any Graffiti Enthusiast. It contains hundreds of incredible full colour images, it explains Health and Safety issues for painters, Legal issues are discussed, and most importantly the voices and commentaries of the artists are presented. A rare collection of unique information and imagery. This is a historical landmark for the culture of graffiti art in Canada. I highly recommend you get yourself a copy.

This book is an incredible account of Toronto graffiti history. It details authentic artist interviews, and stunning photographs of several different sites in Toronto. The book is very thoroughly-researched and thoughtfully presented. It features very interesting stories about the artists' lives.

Toronto Graffiti is one of a kind. A thorough account of the artists who beautify and provoke thought in Toronto. With hundreds of pages of stunning photography, this will be a book you can go back to time and time again and see something new.

This might just have been a coffee table book, and with all of the pictures it's certainly possible to appreciate it as one, but the text isn't filler. You’re never more than the turn of a page away from an interview with an artist, each a fascinating article in its own right, and the combined effect over 484 pages is an emergent first-person overview of the history of graffiti in Toronto.If you just want to see what graffiti in Toronto looks like, this book brings you a broad sample, presented well. But while a collection of nice graffiti photographs would have left you on the outside looking in, Toronto Graffiti brings you closer than you might expect to an insider's perspective.

5.0 out of 5 Stars - INCREDIBLE Toronto Graffiti!​In my youth in Toronto, I often saw graffiti under bridges, by railway tracks, in alleyways, behind grocery stores. Over the years, I saw the quality of the work improve. I didn't actually realize it was improving - I just thought that the better work was more and more in places that were visible to me. It was only with this book "Toronto Graffiti" that I learned that the work really was improving, and developing, and that an incredible creative process was going on. I had been seeing, before my eyes but without understanding it, that different artists were finding their styles and developing their techniques. And at a time without the internet, they would manage to find out about and be influenced by the work of graffiti artists in other cities. A great deal of artistic insight was gathered from where they could get it: a single street shot on television; artists would share photos through the mail; they had to make their own spray can nibs to create better work, etc. It was fascinating getting a window on a creative process that I had been observing over time, a process both wild and careful. And it reminded me of what it is like for anyone involved in a creative endeavour to forge ahead with very little access to the input of outside influences, and the deliciousness of a great find that feeds the artistic soul. This book is just such a great find.

This is an incredible compilation of photos and info I have ever seen. So well organized and very interesting to have the artist's perspective. With the city's campaign to cover up all of the work done by these artists, having this visual catalogue of photos is now priceless. Everyone should buy three copies minimum!!!

History

Support

Featured in:Toronto Graffiti has been featured in the Globe and Mail, CBC radio and a variety of local, national and international media outlets. It is currently being used as reference material by the City of Toronto, sold at the York University bookstore and picked up by professors at the University of Toronto, Ryerson Polytechnic Universities and showcased at Centennial College. The Toronto Public Library has also purchased several books to add to their collection. This incredible book is now also a part of The National Library of Canada. It is widely becoming known as a deeply insightful, authentic work with significant sociopolitical, anthropological and historical ​perspectives.

Praise for Toronto Graffiti:"This book is an absolute must have for any Graffiti Enthusiast. It contains hundreds of incredible full colour images, it explains Health and Safety issues for painters, Legal issues are discussed, and most importantly the voices and commentaries of the artists are presented. A rare collection of unique information and imagery. This is a historical landmark for the culture of graffiti art in Canada. I highly recommend you get yourself a copy.​"